1)
recent legal decisions, favoring idt:
"Here is a new wrinkle in the Skype/eBay lawsuit:"
business.timesonline.co.uk
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A)
net2phone/idt v. skype, ebay
silobreaker.com
Published 07/02/2009 by Law360
Skype, EBay Lose Bid For Stay In VoIP Patent Fight
-- A federal judge has rejected a bid by Skype Technologies SA and its parent company eBay Inc. to stay a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Net2Phone Inc. over Voice Over Internet Protocol online communications technology.
Judge Katharine S. Hayden of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey denied the stay request. She set a Markman hearing for Sept....
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[a markman hearing is a pretrial hearing during which a judge examines evidence from all parties on the appropriate meanings of relevant key words used in a patent claim, when patent infringement is alleged by a plaintiff. and, markman hearings are often scheduled to encourage settlement.]
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case background:
engadget.com
B)
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status, per last idt quarterly report, June 9, 2009 (informatin dates from before the late june 2009 decision noted in the prior post):
“On June 1, 2006, the Company filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey alleging that eBay, Inc., Skype Technologies SA, Skype, Inc. and several as of yet unidentified business entities (collectively, “Skype”) infringed patents owned by the Company. The Company’s complaint was amended to include claims for Skype’s alleged infringement of additional patents, all owned by the Company. The lawsuit seeks, among other things, an injunction enjoining Skype from infringing these patents and monetary damages in connection with Skype’s alleged infringement. Skype has answered the complaint and amended complaints, denying any liability with respect to the Company’s claims and asserted counterclaims. The parties have exchanged expert reports, are completing pre-trial discovery and submitted a final pre-trial order to the Court in December 2008. A request has been filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) to reexamine the patents in question. Subsequently, Skype filed a motion to stay the New Jersey litigation pending the USPTO’s decision on the request for reexamination. The hearing on the motion to stay is scheduled for July 13, 2009. At or after the claim construction hearing (which has yet to be scheduled), the Court will set a summary judgment briefing schedule. On February 20, 2008, eBay, Inc. filed a complaint (which was subsequently amended) in the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas alleging that IDT Corporation, Net2Phone, Inc., IDT Telecom, Inc. and the Company’s 51%-owned U.S. calling card distribution partnership, Union Telecard Alliance, LLC (“UTA”) infringed U.S. Patent No. 6,067,350 that is owned by eBay, Inc. The lawsuit seeks, among other things, an injunction enjoining the Company from infringing the patent and an undetermined amount of monetary damages in connection with the Company’s alleged infringement. On April 23, 2008, the Company answered eBay’s complaint and denied all wrongdoing. The Company also filed counterclaims against eBay, for infringement of three Net2Phone patents: U.S. Patents numbers 6,275,490; 5,974,414; and 6,631,399. The Company asked the court in Arkansas to enjoin those portions of eBay’s auction business that infringe Net2Phone patents and to award Net2Phone damages as a result of eBay’s patent infringement. eBay has answered Net2Phone’s counterclaims, denied all wrongdoing and asserted counterclaims. The Court held a claim construction hearing on February 24-25, 2009, and scheduled the trial for October 2009. On May 19, 2009, the parties participated in non-binding mediation, which was not successful. The parties are now actively engaged in pre-trial discovery.”
C)
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status, per e-bay:
Thursday, July 30, 2009, skype journal
skypejournal.com
Net2Phone v. Skype IP suit going to court in September
posted by Phil Wolff @ 7/30/2009 09:13:00 AM
From eBay's 2009q2 Form 10Q:
In June 2006, Net2Phone, Inc. filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey (No. 06-2469) alleging that eBay Inc., Skype Technologies S.A., and Skype Inc. infringed five patents owned by Net2Phone relating to point-to-point Internet protocol. The suit seeks an injunction against continuing infringement, unspecified damages, including treble damages for willful infringement, and interest, costs, and fees. We have filed an answer and counterclaims asserting that the patents are invalid, unenforceable, and were not infringed. The parties have completed claim construction briefing and attended a pre-trial conference hearing. The claim construction hearing date has been set for September 2009. The trial date is not yet set. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has accepted reexamination on all five Net2Phone patents that are the subject of the lawsuit. We believe that we have meritorious defenses and intend to defend ourselves vigorously. |
